Research on the correction method to the projected capture area of horizontal axis tidal energy converters

With the development of tidal energy generation technology, the method of assessing tidal energy converters captured energy has gained more and more attention to the researchers at home and abroad. Tidal flow direction is known to affect the power performance of tidal energy converters, yet correction method to the projected capture area of tidal energy converters remains limited. Therefore, this paper proposes a correction method to the projected capture area of horizontal axis tidal energy converters, based on the study of electricity producing tidal energy converters - power performance assessment, published by the International Electrotechnical Commission. This method is capable for fixed and floating horizontal axis tidal energy converters, and it can increase the calculating accuracy of tidal flow energy that inputs to the energy extraction plane of tidal energy converters. This paper provides a reliable method to analysis the power characteristics performance of fixed and floating horizontal axis tidal energy converters.